Lyons: After sheriff slammed police, how are things going?

Published: Wednesday, October 30, 2013 at 5:58 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, October 30, 2013 at 5:58 p.m.

It was four months ago that Sarasota County Sheriff Tom Knight sounded the alarm, and lost his cool.

His emphatic warning at a County Commission budget meeting had it that Sarasota Police were so ineptly mishandling a dangerous new problem that it was fast becoming a crisis: Late-night, weekend crowds including gang members and other thugs were spilling out of Manatee County nightclubs at closing time and driving south, to Newtown, where rowdy street crowds formed and caused 2 a.m. mayhem that was prone to become deadly.

Knight painted it as if his deputies had been saving the day by regularly arriving to bail out the overwhelmed city police officers dealing with those crowds.

It was a pack of half truths, hyped so much that many people concluded Knight was starting a takeover attempt campaign to consolidate the city police department into the Sheriff's Office.

Those rowdy late-night crowds were real, and the Manatee influx was sometimes making them bigger and badder. And yes, a plan was needed, before it got worse. But I still don't now where Knight got the idea to claim he and his troops were the only ones who new how to handle it, or why he sounded an unexpected public alarm that blindsided Sarasota Police Chief Bernadette DiPino when he could have just set up a meeting with her to work out a strategy.

DiPino handled Knight's public slam of her agency with mature professionalism. She requested a private meeting, they got together, and they exited with smiles and announcements about teamwork and a renewed multi-agency effort.

The details have never been all that clear, to me, except for this: Late on weekend nights, or whenever there was a tip about a southbound crowd of thuggish partiers, Knight would line southbound incoming roads with as many deputies as he could manage. They would look for reasons to do traffic stops and otherwise make their presence obvious.

Meanwhile, Sarasota officers would beef up their presence in Newtown in places crowds form, and otherwise make it clear that North Sarasota was not a place where anything goes, not even at 2 a.m. on Saturday. Sarasota Police say they also now bring probation officers along, to spot juvenile offenders violating curfew rules.

So, four months later, how's it going? Does Knight think the crisis he announced so emphatically has been averted, at least to the point that the sky is not falling?

So it seems.

Late-night migrations from Manatee nightspots down to Newtown still happen sometimes, but they are smaller and less frequent now, and they have caused fewer problems of late, Knight told me Wednesday.

The two agencies — rank and file as well as watch commanders from both — are working well together, he said. They have been making good use of tips, and his contribution has included lots of traffic stops by deputies.

An example, he said, was when word came from Manatee County that Oct. 9 would be one of those nights when crowds would come south. Deputies, some working overtime, patrolled U.S. 301 that night as if an invasion was expected.

They issued 35 citations for speeding and other offenses, he said.

They also wrote 56 warnings, did 24 field interviews, and made two arrests.

That and other shows of late-night law enforcement presence and focus sent a clear message, he said.

There's a similar tip for this weekend, by the way. And so, Knight says his deputies will be there again, to make sure the message stays clear: People who won't go home when the bars close and instead want to party in the streets of North Sarasota had better be on their best behavior.

Will the 2 a.m. street-party fad pass or at least be monitored and managed to the point that it will go totally off of Knight's radar?

<p>It was four months ago that Sarasota County Sheriff Tom Knight sounded the alarm, and lost his cool.</p><p>His emphatic warning at a County Commission budget meeting had it that Sarasota Police were so ineptly mishandling a dangerous new problem that it was fast becoming a crisis: Late-night, weekend crowds including gang members and other thugs were spilling out of Manatee County nightclubs at closing time and driving south, to Newtown, where rowdy street crowds formed and caused 2 a.m. mayhem that was prone to become deadly.</p><p>Knight painted it as if his deputies had been saving the day by regularly arriving to bail out the overwhelmed city police officers dealing with those crowds.</p><p>It was a pack of half truths, hyped so much that many people concluded Knight was starting a takeover attempt campaign to consolidate the city police department into the Sheriff's Office.</p><p>Those rowdy late-night crowds were real, and the Manatee influx was sometimes making them bigger and badder. And yes, a plan was needed, before it got worse. But I still don't now where Knight got the idea to claim he and his troops were the only ones who new how to handle it, or why he sounded an unexpected public alarm that blindsided Sarasota Police Chief Bernadette DiPino when he could have just set up a meeting with her to work out a strategy.</p><p>DiPino handled Knight's public slam of her agency with mature professionalism. She requested a private meeting, they got together, and they exited with smiles and announcements about teamwork and a renewed multi-agency effort.</p><p>The details have never been all that clear, to me, except for this: Late on weekend nights, or whenever there was a tip about a southbound crowd of thuggish partiers, Knight would line southbound incoming roads with as many deputies as he could manage. They would look for reasons to do traffic stops and otherwise make their presence obvious. </p><p>Meanwhile, Sarasota officers would beef up their presence in Newtown in places crowds form, and otherwise make it clear that North Sarasota was not a place where anything goes, not even at 2 a.m. on Saturday. Sarasota Police say they also now bring probation officers along, to spot juvenile offenders violating curfew rules.</p><p>So, four months later, how's it going? Does Knight think the crisis he announced so emphatically has been averted, at least to the point that the sky is not falling?</p><p>So it seems.</p><p>Late-night migrations from Manatee nightspots down to Newtown still happen sometimes, but they are smaller and less frequent now, and they have caused fewer problems of late, Knight told me Wednesday.</p><p>The two agencies — rank and file as well as watch commanders from both — are working well together, he said. They have been making good use of tips, and his contribution has included lots of traffic stops by deputies. </p><p>An example, he said, was when word came from Manatee County that Oct. 9 would be one of those nights when crowds would come south. Deputies, some working overtime, patrolled U.S. 301 that night as if an invasion was expected.</p><p>They issued 35 citations for speeding and other offenses, he said. </p><p>They also wrote 56 warnings, did 24 field interviews, and made two arrests.</p><p>That and other shows of late-night law enforcement presence and focus sent a clear message, he said.</p><p>There's a similar tip for this weekend, by the way. And so, Knight says his deputies will be there again, to make sure the message stays clear: People who won't go home when the bars close and instead want to party in the streets of North Sarasota had better be on their best behavior.</p><p>Will the 2 a.m. street-party fad pass or at least be monitored and managed to the point that it will go totally off of Knight's radar?</p><p>“It remains to be seen,” but so far, so good, Knight said.</p>